The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with a serious respiratory illness that has since triggered other health problems. "The Pope rested well all night," the Vatican said in a brief, one-sentence statement.

Time-honored rituals, drafted and refined over centuries, allow time for mourning and provide order at a dramatic moment of transition.

Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square on a chilly, rainy evening to pray for an ailing Pope Francis.